What Would Mrs. Brady Do? ‘Bad Moms’ Takes on Modern Motherhood

If you heard that an R-rated comedy was called “Bad Moms,” you might be tempted to assume it’s one of those films that toy with established pillars of goodness like “Bad Santa” and “Bad Teacher.” But the mothers in “Bad Moms,” in theaters July 29, are actually too good, and that’s their problem.

“It’s not ‘bad mom’ like ‘Oh I’m gonna leave my kid for 20 days and run away to Mexico and have margaritas,’” said Mila Kunis, who plays Amy, one of six featured parents, some tiger moms, some defiantly leaning out. “It’s overworked and underappreciated moms who finally allow themselves to be a little bit selfish.”

Kathryn Hahn, who plays Carla, the most bon vivant and crass of the group, said the title was a little misleading and that “Real Moms” might have been a better handle for characters who “are not bad at all. We’re just complicated, messy. I have two kids of my own and it’s just a constant feeling of ‘Where did I screw up today?’”

Even the film’s grown-up mean girls, led by Christina Applegate’s Gwendolyn, struggle with trying to be perfect. Gwendolyn gives a Power Point presentation at a PTA meeting and warns of the consequences of bringing “toxic substances” to the bake sale. “There’s a Gwendolyn in every school,” Ms. Applegate said.

All six of the lead actresses, including Kristen Bell, Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo (who, with Kristen Wiig, wrote “Bridesmaids,” a comic touchstone for this film), are working parents in real life. “Bad Moms” might seem to the childless like a satire.

“This is an age of intense multitasking,” said Ms. Bell, who plays Kiki, one of the most oppressed of the film’s moms — the one who gets no help from her demanding hubby. “A good majority of women are full-time moms and full career women. They struggle to find that balance. Optimism is very important but striving for perfection without allowing yourself to fail is a recipe for disaster.”

Ms. Mumolo recalled, “I was not very good at ever taking ‘me time’ before and I ended up getting neck problems. I had shingles and I threw my neck out.”

In one scene, Amy confesses, “At least once a day, I feel like the worst mom in the world and I cry in my car.” After a series of mishaps and worse (she catches her husband in a cybersexual relationship), she draws the line, declaring to Carla, “We’re killing ourselves to be perfect and it’s making us insane. Screw it, let’s be bad moms.”

This falls more into the relatively harmless realm of “make your own breakfast,” and a romp through a local supermarket staged like a hip-hop video. Still, the declaration feels like an act of self-liberation that subtly shocks.

“Bad Moms” was written and directed by guilty dads: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, whose jobs consist of lying around their home offices coming up with follow-ups to the blockbuster “The Hangover,” which they wrote.

“Our lives are pretty boring,” Mr. Moore said via phone, “and we were watching our wives run around and try to live up to the pressure of being a parent these days and the stresses and the excitement, and frankly the comedy of trying to exist in that world seemed more interesting as a subject matter, so we said, let’s write about that.”

The film is part love letter, part penitence. “Dads aren’t held to those standards,” Mr. Lucas admitted.

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A preview of the film.Published OnJuly 28, 2016CreditImage by STX Entertainment

If early screenings are to be believed, the film might end up being a kind of date movie for mom gangs. “A lot of women tell us that the movie is not only entertaining for them, that it’s necessary,” said Suzanne Todd, one of the film’s producers.

“Bad Moms” closes with clips of the real-life actresses with their moms, confessing times when they clashed or made (ultimately harmless) mistakes. We asked some of the stars to share their own memories of bad motherhood.

Mila Kunis I was taking my daughter to see my husband at work. I get the car all ready and I was really proud of my myself. I put her in the car seat and I’m driving down the 101 in L.A., and I look in the rearview mirror and she’s not strapped into her car seat. Babies need to get strapped into car seats for safety reasons. I skipped it. I just started driving. And I learned my lesson. Double-check.

Kathryn Hahn I remember when he was a baby, my son rolled off the bed more times than I can possibly count. God love him, he had a big beautiful head and it took him a long time to roll over. One time I was in the bathroom and I heard this big thud and this screaming.

Kristen Bell I wish I’d swore at my mom a little less. Not that I regret swearing because I swear all the time. But it bothers my mom. In retrospect I wish I’d been more considerate.

Christina Applegate My mom would let me take cabs out till 2 in the morning when I was 15, 16 years old. That would never happen in modern times. I would come home at 2. She always said, ‘You can go but you have to call me if you leave the one place you’re going to be and tell me who you’re with and where you’re going.’ So I’d have to pull over in a cab and call her from a pay phone. In hindsight that was nuts. I was getting into clubs that were 21 and over and doing things I probably shouldn’t be doing. That was the nature of the early ’80s, man. And parenting by parents from the ’70s.